Hi everyone, This is my first post to the forum, what a great source of info it is. I would like to complete a BA in about 6 months (or less) time but am unsure about which school makes the most sense in my situation. Not looking to use the degree to get a job and really do not care about the concentration (a degree in Art is just as good as Business). The reputation/name of the school is also unimportant to me. My plan is to enroll in a Masters program (from a traditional accredited state school) which I believe and hope will take me to next level. The condition of enrollment to this program is completion of a 4 year degree- any subject. So I have looked at Excelsior, Charter Oak and Edision. They all could possibly work, but I'd like to find the path of least resistance. I have virtually no credits to transfer Any advise much appreaciated!
You picked a good place to get advice - many of the members of this forum obtained degrees from the "big 3". First I suggest you visit http://bain4weeks.com/ and review it thoroughly. Then download and study all the catalogs. Consider if you want to obtain credit by portfolio (too many might be a problem geting into grad school but I have never heard of this being a problem). Start obtaining all the credits you can that would be applicable to the degree by test, community college, etc. I would not enroll untill you have obtained a substantial number of units (in my case it was around 100 semester units). This will save you some money. Finally let us know what grad program area you are looking at and we can suggest options (for instance if you plan on an MBA then you often need UG classes in areas such as accounting and marketing). Best wishes
Thx Ian, Credit by any means will do. The MS is from W. Carolina University and is in a subject very hard to find- Entreprenuership. The catch is that you must have a 4 year degree before you can start the MS program. This MS program is 100% online and a fully accredited. My thinking was to get the 4 year out of the way as soon as possible and to start the MS in August of this year. Frankly, there aren't really any undergrad courses that are must haves like you might see with an MBA. I have visited BA in 4 weeks long ago- great site. But I was making good money and really didnt know what I wanted, why waste time and money. Now I think I know how I'd like to pursue my education and testing out makes a lot of sense. I just dont know which college is more aligned for what I am trying to do.
I looked into the Big 3 and found COSC was the most flexible. I don't think you will find anyone that would argue that COSC has first rate customer service. They will answer any question before you enroll. Excelsior is Ok and TESC is the worst. As Ian suggested, I would start with the earning as many credits as possible before enrolling. I had about 70 before I enrolled and was able to complete my BS in less than six months. My advice to you, as it is to everyone, is to look at the passing rates for the military for CLEP and DANTES exams. If the passing rate is over 50% and you know anything about the subject, go for it. Take the test will little or no study and see how you do. Don't forget, you can get credit for computer certifications. Passing rates - http://www.dantes.doded.mil/dantes_web/examinations/clepgeneral.htm http://www.dantes.doded.mil/dantes_web/examinations/clepsubject.htm http://www.dantes.doded.mil/dantes_web/examinations/dssts.htm http://www.dantes.doded.mil/dantes_web/examinations/ece2.htm Good luck-
I disagree with Randell1234 statement that COSC is the most flexible. As far as builing your own major (concentration), yes COSC is a good deal. You mentioned speed of completion as your top priority; I would go with Excelsior. Much more structured, and no worries on not having your concentration proposal disapproved or kicked back. You can view my roadmap on how to finish everything from start to finish here: http://www.123collegedegree.com/bsintro.html Keep me updated on your progress. I would be interested to see how someone does this from absolute scratch (well, not really, you have this forum and websites like bain4weeks.com and 123collegedegree.com that have brought a LOT of valuable information together where you would have normally had to do so all by yourself )
